Message from TAITRA on COVID 19

Message from TAITRA on COVID 19

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the way of life for people around the globe. As working from home becomes prevalent during lockdowns, laptops, tablets, servers, and ICT related products are playing crucial roles to keep the world connected. Taiwan, as a leading ICT supplier, can provide high quality remote working solutions amid and post COVID-19.

Remote working demands have risen since the COVID-19 outbreak began earlier this year. The Taiwan government announced recently that export orders for April amounted to US$38.53 billion with an annual increase of 2.3%, and ICT and electronic shipments registered record double-digit growth in the same month compared to that of past years.

The high growth, according to the Census and Statistics Department, was due to the high demand arising from remote working arrangements around the globe. Specifically, demands for electronics, laptops, servers, NetCom products, and cybersecurity solutions proved to be the strongest sectors.

In addition, the increased tensions between Washington and Beijing since 2018 and China’s rising wages and social security costs, as well as stricter environmental regulations, have further spurred demands for servers and electronic components produced outside of China. Consequently, many Taiwanese electronics and ICT manufacturers have swiftly relocated their production facilities back to Taiwan.

Official reports showed that since January 2019, 189 Taiwanese businesses located in China have applied for the "Return to Taiwan Investment Project", and in turn invested more than US$25.3 billion back home, with most of the funds invested in high-tech sectors.

Meanwhile, Taiwan business investment in China halved in 2019 due to the 10% tariff on Chinese-made servers, ICT products and electronic products imposed by the US since September 2018. The tariff was increased to 25% in May 2019.

As global manufacturers are starting a new wave of China exodus, the relocation of Taiwan’s ICT and electronics businesses can provide a new and reinforced base for reliable global industrial supply chains.

TAITRA will hold COMPUTEX this year from Sep 28 to 30 in Taiwan. COMPUTEX, based on Taiwan’s complete ICT clusters, is one of world’s leading ICT, IoT, and startup business platforms. With strong R&D and manufacturing capabilities and IPR protection, Taiwan is an ideal and strategic destination for international companies and investors looking for reliable partners in the global technology ecosystem. For details about the 2020 show, please contact an TAITRA overseas office near you.

#COMPUTEXOnlineTalks, a free event open to everyone around the globe, will be held from June 2-4 joined by global tech giants. See more at:

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

***Taiwan’s update on COVID-19, See: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En
As of today, Jun 1, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in more than 6,195,424 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of 443 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 50 consecutive days of zero domestic transmissions, 352 imported cases, 7 deceased cases, 427 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition, according to Taiwan’s CECC.

*** As the number of infections under control and the situation stable in Taiwan, the government has decided to loosen up domestic restrictions, and a large-scale total loosening can be implemented starting June 7, which means all domestic activities will no longer be restricted.

Other than maintaining social distancing measures, one of the most effective ways to combat the spread of the coronavirus is to wear face masks. The Taiwan government has announced that the nation is ready to export surgical grade face masks and production machineries on June 1, 2020.

So far, Taiwan’s COVID-19 containment efforts have been effective, with no lockdowns taking place and most businesses and schools operating as usual. One of the key success factors on curbing the spread of the coronavirus was the wearing of face masks early on during the initial outbreak period. By wearing face masks, the population was better protected from virus-carrying droplets in high risk spaces. The entire nation has been wearing face masks since the outbreak began.

Drawing from previous experiences of the SARS outbreak, Taiwan was among the first countries to act early to prevent the coronavirus from spreading. Early on during the outbreak, the Taiwan government collaborated with local smart machinery and automation sectors to increase mask production to meet demands domestically. Taiwan is now the secon13d largest face mask manufacturing country in the world.

Currently, with sufficient amount supplied domestically, Taiwan can also supply the global community with top quality surgical masks and mask production machinery. The nation’s highest daily output of masks has now reached 20 million pieces, with an average daily capacity of 18 million to 19 million pieces.

Facing a shortage of face masks during the initial outbreak, Taiwan’s smart machinery and automation sectors collaborated with the government to rapidly increase mask production. In a show of support of the government’s lead, nationwide machinery manufacturers quickly answered the call and pooled together their resources to offer integrated solutions. Since then, public and private sectors around the world have expressed interest in procuring mask machinery from Taiwan.

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

*** TAITRA will hold TIMTOS (Taipei International Machine Tool Show) form March 15 to 20, 2021, Asia’s second and the world’s third largest machine tool exhibition. One of the key features is that the machine tool enterprises involved in assembling the mask production lines will showcase their key high-precision components, smart machinery and production lines, and smart manufacturing solutions.
See more at: https://www.timtos.com.tw/en_US/index.html

***MEDICAL TAIWAN, scheduled to take place this year on October 15-17 at TaiNEX 2, in Taipei, Taiwan, is a complete International Medical, Health and Care tradeshow to showcase Taiwan's medical innovation and technology, featuring healthcare products, medical devices & equipment, assistive products, and smart medical solutions. See more at: https://www.medicaltaiwan.com.tw/

***Taiwan’s update on COVID-19, See: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En
As of today, May 29, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in more than 5,819,082 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of 442 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 47 consecutive days of zero domestic transmissions, 351 imported cases, 7 deceased cases, 420 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition, according to Taiwan’s CECC.

*** As the number of infections under control and the situation stable in Taiwan, the government has decided to loosen up domestic restrictions, and a large-scale total loosening can be implemented starting June 7, which means all domestic activities will no longer be restricted.Taiwan Starts Gradual Loosening of COVID-19 Restrictions​
Publish Date：2020-05-26

Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced today that Taiwan will start to gradually loosen up the COVID-19 prevention restrictions that are currently in place nationwide. So far, Taiwan has been relatively safe from the global spread of COVID-19. The government’s efforts have been effective in curbing the coronavirus, with no lockdowns taking place and most businesses and schools operating as usual.

As of today, May 26, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in more than 5,524,652 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of 441 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 44 consecutive days of zero domestic transmissions, 350 imported cases, 7 deceased cases, 416 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition, according to Taiwan’s CECC.

With the number of infections under control and the situation stable, the government has decided to begin loosening up domestic restrictions while maintaining effective border control. If no domestic cases and no community infections are observed after 8 weeks, CECC indicated that a large-scale total loosening can be implemented starting June 7, which means all domestic activities will no longer be restricted.

In enforcing large-scale easing, the government has also been encouraging citizens to incorporate epidemic prevention practices into their daily lives since April 30. For example, maintaining social distance or wear a mask in crowded spaces, washing hands frequently, and cooperate with real-name based systems for certain activities or events, which is necessary for contact tracing purposes. Moreover, local authorities must also practice effective management before June 7 when total loosening takes place.

Although the global MICE industry has been greatly affected by COVID-19, it is expected that business activities will start to pick up as the pandemic begins to wind down in the second half of the year.

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

COVID-19 has continued to obstruct the global economy since January 2020. Given the unprecedented severity of the pandemic, Taiwan has poured every resource into curbing the spread of the coronavirus. As one of the world’s major ICT manufacturers and solution providers, Taiwan has incorporated the power of supercomputing in the fight against COVID-19.

Founded in 1991, the National Center for High-performance Computing (NCHC), a member of the National Applied Research Laboratories (NARLabs), is the country’s only national-level supercomputing center. The NCHC possesses a large computing and networking platform facilities for use by domestic academia and the general public. The NCHC plays a leading role in Taiwan's cloud technology services by integrating high performance computing (HPC), storage, and networking to provide cloud services in storage, big data analysis, and scientific and engineering simulation.

NCHC built and launched its supercomputers Taiwania 1 and Taiwania 2 in 2018. Taiwania 2 was ranked in the top 20 amongst the world’s top 500 supercomputers in terms of speed in that same year. These super machines are now dedicated to the academic and domestic works in multiple fields, including physics, chemistry, mathematics, atmospheric, engineering, life sciences, robotics, and AI related developments.

One of the major operations of the HPC is the Taiwan Computing Cloud (TWCC). Directed by the Ministry of Science and Technology, TWCC is the AI cloud platform implemented by NCHC, along with 3 Taiwan ICT leaders: ASUS, Quanta Computer and Taiwan Mobile. While NCHC planned and supervised the project, ASUS took care of the cloud platform, server and AI application integrations, Quanta was in charge of the computing mainframe and data storage, and Taiwan Mobile was responsible for the operation of the facility, as well as top level information security. In the recent endeavors to defeat COVID-19, the computational power, storage, and big data datasets of Taiwania 2 were made available to the public free of charge based on their applications for anti-pandemic purposes. The NCHC also made several joint efforts with scientists in various fields to develop anti-COVID-19 applications, such as using AI to scan X-rays for pneumonia, collaborating on multiple sequence alignment of genes in the search for precise markers for COVID-19, and training AI with X-rays that have been marked for pneumonia. The outcomes of these works are soon to be shared globally for the fight against COVID-19.

Established in 1989, ASUS is a multinational company known for the world’s best motherboards and high-quality personal computers, monitors, graphics cards, routers, gaming computer and other technology solutions. The company is now designing and building the next-generation smart technologies. The company is highly recognized worldwide, in 2019, it has been named including the No. 1 international brand from Taiwan by Interbrand, Top Regarded Companies by Forbes, and the World's Most Admired Companies by Fortune magazine. In the year of 2020, 26 ASUS products have won the Red Dot Design Award. See more at: https://www.asus.com/us/

Established in 1988, Quanta Computer is one of the world’s leading notebook manufacturers and ranked 365 in the 2019 Fortune Global 500. The company has 4 subsidiaries specialized in areas of telecommunication, automotive electronics, robotics, and datacenter solution. Quanta Cloud Technology (QCT) currently accounts for over 50% of the market shares in large scale cloud datacenter worldwide, its ODM direct marketing is number 1 in the world, accounting for 35% of the market according to IDC in 2018. See more at: Quanta Computers: https://www.quantatw.com/quanta/english/Default.aspx
QCT: https://www.qct.io/

Founded in 1997, Taiwan Mobile is a leading telecom operator providing mobile, fixed-line, cable TV and broadband services in Taiwan, and the first private telecom company to be listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. It is currently repositioning itself as a next-generation technology company that leads the next revolution in telecommunications, Internet, media and entertainment, and e-commerce. From 2017-2019, Taiwan Mobile has been included in the World Telecom Industry by DJSI World, and was ranked first in 2018. See more at: https://english.taiwanmobile.com/

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

*** AIoT Taiwan- will be held in October 21 to 23, 2020, at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Hall 1 (TaiNEX 1). AIoT Taiwan is a to showcase the latest AI and the IoT applications for businesses, featuring complete ecosystem that include key components, system integration, security and smart solutions for businesses in a contactless economy. See more at:https://www.aiottaiwan.com

***As of today, May 25, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 5,434,035 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of 441 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 43 consecutive days of ZERO domestic transmissions, 350 imported cases, 7 deceased cases, 415 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

The coronavirus has been impacting the global economy since its outbreak in January 2020. As countries continue to implement lockdown measures, physical international trading events have grinded to a halt. Online business activities on the other hand have surged and are being embraced by more and more businesses worldwide.

Pandemic or not, as the foremost trade promoter of Taiwan, TAITRA is committed to the country’s business communities with the world. While many physical trade promoting events have been put on hold in the first half of 2020, TAITRA has expanded its digital channels to connect international companies with quality suppliers and products from Taiwan.

In May 19-20, TAITRA held the country’s first contactless online trade mission and enabled 12 Taiwanese companies from the machinery, beauty, food, auto parts, hardware and medical sectors to meet international buyers in over 100 online meeting sessions. The online trade mission was joined by more than 70 buyers from Thailand and the Philippines. TAITRA has scheduled 2 more events in June and September for buyers from India and Japan, respectively.

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

***As of today, May 22, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 5,126,141 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of 441 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 40 consecutive days of ZERO domestic transmissions, 350 imported cases, 7 deceased cases, 408 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

Taiwan’s extensive deployment of digital governance in areas including immigration, customs and national health insurance (NHI) became the critical tools for the nation’s efforts to fend off the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak.

First launched in 1995, the NHI is a social medical insurance system that covers everyone in the country, ensuring equal right to healthcare for all. Operated by the government, with a minimum premium of US$25/month, the insured are entitled to all necessary healthcare services, from almost 30,000 medical institutions throughout the country. The high accountability and easy access have earned the system applauses at home and abroad.

In order to keep such a vast network up and running effectively, it was necessary to adopt sophisticated computing systems and the latest technologies as the backbone of the network. For instance, the NHI adopted cloud technology in 2013 and has since been building and perfecting an electronic medical record system called the “PharmaCloud”, which later on developed into the “MediCloud”. It is a patient centered system that allows doctors from different medical institutions to access the complete medical record of the insured seeking medical advice or treatment.

International Integrated Systems, Inc. (IISI), was the creator of the system. Using advanced ICT for system implementation and software development, IISI went beyond healthcare to specialize in various fields including the public sector, financial sector, smart city, and telecom & internet services. Cooperating with global IT service providers, IISI offers worldwide customers competitive and intelligent solutions. In fact, apart from III, IBM and Chunghwa Telecom, the largest telecommunication company in Taiwan, are also the major shareholders of IISI. See more at: http://www.iisigroup.com/

When a person enrolls in the National Health Insurance program, they have to apply for a National Health Insurance Card as well, which must be presented when visiting a medical institution. The use of NHI cards began in 2004. A chip is embedded in the card that stores basic information, healthcare data and medical data of the insured, as well as information from the health administration. These are imperative when seeking professional medical services in Taiwan. In fact, its great versatility has expanded the scope from pure medical usage to even the annual tax return, and recently the face mask total amount control during the COVID-19 prevention campaign. Taiwan officials also integrated the NHI database with immigration and customs database, which enabled medical facilities including hospitals and pharmacies to access to the travel history for their patients and customers when scanning their NHI cards, and may respond accordingly to prevent transmissions and institutional infections.

Only a handful of Taiwanese businesses have been contracted to implement the NHI IC card system. The current company is TECO Smart Technologies Co., Ltd. (TST). Established in 2002, TST is one of the most experienced IC card makers and solution providers in Taiwan. TST was also one of the contractors for the Taiwan freeway electronic toll collection card. The company also provides IC cards for ATM cards and credit cards. In 2009, TST expanded its business to the Philippines, contracted by the government to issue 12 million Unified Multi-purpose ID cards. See more at: http://www.tecosmart.com.tw/en/index.php

As a major ICT powerhouse in the world, incorporating the latest technologies to reinforce the implementation of policies has long been a feature of the Taiwan government. The NHI Administration introduced a personalized cloud service called “My Health Bank” in 2014. The insured can go online or use a smart phone app to obtain their latest medical information and insurance status. By providing the insured access to their medical records and health information, My Health Bank empowers people to better control and manage their health status. This service balances the information asymmetry between doctors and patients, making medical care safer, better and more transparent.

The NHIA released the software development kits (SDK) for “My Health Bank” in 2019 to encourage the effective usage of all the medical big data collected, anticipating a broader medical information application and management, with the ultimate goal of improving public health. Three application developers have already interfaced with the My Health Bank SDK. Through We Care, an application developed by La Vida Tec Co., Ltd., the insured can download their medical data from My Health Bank and share it with experts recommended by AI to ask questions and acquire feedback; Health2Sync is an application developed by H2 Inc., which provides diabetes management services; H2U Health Bank, developed by H2U Club, is an application that allows businesses to care for the health of their employees. See more at:

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

***As of today, May 20, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 4,921,252 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of 440 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 38 consecutive days of ZERO domestic transmissions, 349 imported cases, 7 deceased cases, 402 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

The COVID-19 Pandemic has impacted the global economy by disrupting the supply chain while freezing the market demand. Taiwan, as a global technology hub, is simultaneously transforming and upgrading its technology industry to adjust to the changes, aiming to work hand in hand with the international community amid and post COVID-19.

According to Gartner, the global semiconductor industry has been significantly affected by COVID-19. The industry’s projected growth rate is expected to change from an increase of 12.5% to a -0.9% this year. While most countries are taking various measures to prevent the spread of the outbreak, the impact unfortunately has taken farther than expected.

With the country’s biggest export and investment market being China, major suppliers for raw materials and key components being Japan and Korea, and largest consumer markets being the US, EU and Southeast Asia, Taiwan’s technology sectors including semiconductor, ICT and TFT LCD panels were significantly affected by COVID-19.

If there is not a second wave of the coronavirus, analysists predict that the global market will gradually recover steadily through the second half of this year, but for the economy to fully recover, the world will have to wait for the arrival of a vaccine.

Meanwhile, there is an emerging trend in working from home, and demands for technology applications are rising from the contactless economy. Taiwan is actively developing and advancing the related technologies to meet the rapid rise in demands in areas such as remote conferences, on-line education, telemedicine, digital solutions for automation, data analysis, cloud & routers, and e-commerce.

TAITRA will continue to organize a series of online marketing events, including variety of virtual exhibitions on Taiwantrade.com, Taiwan’s leading B2B website. Global businesses will be invited to participate in online procurement meetings, new product launch presentations, and webinars featuring major industry players sharing the latest trends in a variety of technology applications.

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

*** TAITRONICS & AIoT Taiwan- a complete set of tradeshows to showcase the latest AI and the IoT applications for businesses, featuring complete ecosystem that include key components, system integration, security and smart solutions for businesses in a contactless economy. See more at: https://www.taitronics.twhttps://www.aiottaiwan.com

***As of today, May 18, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 4,749,813 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of 440confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 36 consecutive days of ZERO domestic transmissions, 349 imported cases, 7 deceased cases, 398 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

Millions of commuters across Europe and many cities around the world are currently turning to cycling to avoid crowded public transport or to keep social distancing throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Taiwan, also known as The Bicycle Kingdom, has been supplying a variety of top-quality bicycles and related products to the international community amid the pandemic.

As more and more countries begin to ease lockdown restrictions and get their economies up and running again, they are also creating new bicycle paths to encourage cycling among citizens. The move not only meets green policy goals, it also encourages social distancing while having the added benefit of stimulating growth for the bicycle and its related industries.

Across the European cities of Oslo, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Paris, Milan and Vienna, authorities are removing old infrastructure while making new routes for riders. Capitals including London, Paris, Brussels and Rome are setting up new paths; authorities in France are subsidizing bicycle repairs and e-bike purchases; in Barcelona, existing bike lanes are being widened to create safer distances among cyclists.

Taiwan, a major global bicycle supplier, produces 70% of the world’s mid-to-high-end bicycles. Taiwan also supplies more than two million traditional bicycles globally. Road bike comprised 20-30% of shipments in the past few years, while mountain bikes took up 60% of U.S.-bound shipments.

Giant and Merida, the two major bicycle companies from Taiwan, as well as Advanced Group, Darad Innovation Corporation, and O-TA hold prominent places in the global bicycle industry. Many of Taiwan’s bicycle component manufacturers such as Kenda Tire and TBS Group Corporation (maker of the smallest sized bicycle power meter), are also the preferred supplier partners of global brands.

More recently, Taiwan's has been developing the electric bicycles segment. The export value of electric bicycles has surpassed that of traditional bicycles in the first quarter of 2020.

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

***As of today, May 15, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 4,470,565 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of 440 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 34 consecutive days of ZERO domestic transmissions, 349 imported cases, 7 deceased cases, 387 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

The situation of the coronavirus pandemic may have reached a turning point, and Taiwan for certain would want to play its part in the global recovery that is within grasp.

According to the latest Business Environment Risk Intelligence (BERI) report, Taiwan is ranked the third-best in the world, and the best in Asia, as a destination for investment amongst the 50 countries being assessed upon. And one of the significant indices of economic recovery would be the number of international events being held in-country.

According to the International Congress and Convention Association (ICAA) statistics, Taiwan held 163 international meetings in 2019, ranking 4th in terms of number of events in Asia. It was a record high ranking in 5 years, and tied with the best record Taiwan achieved previously. The capital city, Taipei, alone held 101 meetings, ranking 5th among all Asian cities.

Though the global business events industry has been widely impacted by COVID-19 in the first half of 2020, the sector is still full of opportunities in the second half. In light of the impressive results of Taiwan’s epidemic control efforts, ICAA has announced that it will go ahead with its planned annual congress, which is set to take place this coming November in Kaohsiung, the harbor city and southern economic center of Taiwan.

The 2019 ICAA Congress in Houston attracted 1,000 attendants from 75 countries. The 2020 ICAA Congress in Kaohsiung is estimated to welcome 1,000+ participants, and will be the association’s first ever hybrid congress, combining both online and onsite agenda, and may become textbook material for a new format of association meetings in the future.

In promoting Taiwan’s business events industry, the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) launched the MEET TAIWAN initiative and entrusted TAITRA to implement the project. MEET TAIWAN positions the country as a destination for business events, and aims to enhance the quality and efficiency of services as well as Taiwan’s brand and image in the global business events market. See more at: https://www.meettaiwan.com/en_US/index.html

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

***As of today, May 14, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 4,378,046 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of 440 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 32 consecutive days of ZERO domestic transmissions, 349 imported cases, 7 deceased cases, 383 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

It has been reported that more than 160 countries have shut down schools and campuses amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As the coronavirus continues to impact the world, as many as 90 percent of students worldwide have been obstructed from attending classes. Issues of such a magnitude has led to a major shift in the realm of education towards smart education.

With decades of innovation and development backed by a strong ICT industry base, Taiwan’s smart education industry is a mature segment comprised of companies offering a diverse range of advanced solutions.

AVer Information, founded in 2008, is a leading developer and manufacturer of education technology and visual collaboration solutions. Its "Mechanical Arm Wireless Interactive Visualizer" is ultra-lightweight and convenient for teachers to carry. Equipped with a 4K 13-megapixel camera and 60fps imaging, which accurately presents teaching materials without missing any of the fine details. It can also function as a network camera to easily facilitate remote teaching. See more at: https://www.aver.com/default.aspx

Delta, founded in 1971, is a global provider of power and thermal management solutions. It is now working with Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University and have created an innovative and open platform for Smart Learning, the DeltaKnEW Academy, which has patented learning experience design to equip professionals and enterprises with the latest Industry 4.0 skills. With both a web version and mobile app, DeltaKnEW Academy enables on-the-job, in the moment and on-the-go learning for workers to embark on a versatile and personalized learning journey for reskilling and upskilling. See more at: https://www.deltaww.com/

Based in Taipei, Eyesmedia is a tech company focused on the development of NLP technologies. It implemented a smart campus project with Yunlin County Government at two elementary schools. The project involves establishing a smart parent-teacher communications platform, combining its cloud-based system for students to pay for public transportation, self-service borrow and return books from school library, as well as purchasing from cashless vending machines. See more at: https://www.eyesmedia.com.tw/en/home-copy-2

Innolux, established in 2003, the company has 14 plants in Taiwan possesses a complete production line, making it the world's total display solutions provider offering a full range of large/medium/small LCD panels and touch-control screens. Collaborating with Chromebook, it is now a maker of the 11.6 inches touch screen education notebook. With enhanced power durability and TOD (touch on display) technology adopted, it is considered better for children’s health. See more at: http://www.innolux.com/Pages%2fen%2fIndex_en.html

MiTAC Information Technology, established in 2010, a solution supplier on IoT for cloud system of system integration. Its signature “IDSmart RFID Smart Library Total Solution” accounts for over 75% of the library UHF market in Taiwan. The fully integrated services including assisting with librarian tasks, reader self-service equipment, back-end self-service inventory and sorting equipment. See more at: https://www.mitac.com.tw/index.cfm

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

***As of today, May 13, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 4,293,320 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of 440 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 31 consecutive days of ZERO domestic transmissions, 349 imported cases, 7 deceased cases, 375 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

Until May 12, 2020, Taiwan has not seen any domestic COVID-19 transmission for 30 consecutive days. The country has endured more than 2 incubation periods (28 days). Taiwan is not just safe on paper. Compared with pre-COVID times, the daily lives of citizens remain relatively similar, including outdoor sporting activities.

For instance, Taiwan’s professional baseball league CPBL, began its closed-door 2020 Season in early April. For a time, CPBL was the only professional baseball league holding events worldwide. CPBL is now allowing 1,000 fans per game to enter the stadiums, and is the first of its kind to make such a call.

On top of drawing attention from the international sports community and media, by doing so, Taiwan and the CPBL is also making a statement that it is prepared for a post-COVID era and that the island nation is ready to gradually and cautiously lift restrictions imposed to combat COVID-19.

While professional sports are always exciting to watch, personal exercises are also important. According to a WHO research, adults should maintain moderate daily physical activity in order to enhance muscular strength and physical wellness. Doctors also urged that during the epidemic prevention period, regular exercising at home can help boosting immunity.

Taiwan has long been a major global sporting goods and fitness equipment exporter. In 2019 alone, US$2.12 billion worth of sporting goods were shipped to other parts of the globe. A significant amount of the increase was driven by the growing fitness and sporting equipment market. Brands from Taiwan are among the top industry players in the world, including Johnson and Dyaco, both are manufacturers of sporting and fitness goods that are frequent winners of the Taiwan Excellence Award.

Johnson is among the top 3 largest fitness equipment manufactures in the world, and number one in Asia. Its brands include Matrix Fitness for commercial clients, Vision Fitness and Horizon Fitness for retail clients. See more at: https://www.johnsonhealthtech.com/us/eng/our-brands

Dyaco is the parent company of various prestige brands including SPIRIT, fuel, XTERRA, SOLE, Spirit Medical Systems Group, and CLUBFIT. See more at: https://www.dyaco.com/en-gb

In 2021, TAITRA will hold the TaiSPO tradeshow on 3-6 March at Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC). It is one of the most complete and innovative platforms in the global sporting and fitness industry. The exhibition will feature Smart Sport, Sports Services, as well as the Taiwan Excellence Award Pavilion and a lot more. For further detail, please see: https://www.taispo.com.tw/en_US/index.html

Together with TaiSPO, TAIPEI CYCLE, will be held by TAITRA on 3-6 March, 2021, at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Halls 1 and 2 (TaiNEX 1&2). It is the second largest professional cycle show worldwide, and will feature a complete ecosystem of the healthy lifestyle and sports industry, and will include many special features, such as enhanced online and offline sourcing services, and outdoor demo riding for bicycles. See more at: https://www.taipeicycle.com.tw/en_US/index.html

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

***As of today, May 12, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 4,212,538 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of 440 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 30 consecutive days of ZERO domestic transmissions, 349 imported cases, 7 deceased cases, 372 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

The coronavirus pandemic has dramatically changed the way foods are prepared and made available for public consumption around the globe. Taiwan, an island nation surrounded by abundant fishery resources and a reliable trade partner, is offering the international community a variety of fishery solutions amid and post COVID-19.

The pandemic has profoundly disrupted the global food supply chain at every level, and the related economic problems have significantly impacted people’s access to food. In many countries, harvests are currently going to waste due to work and travel bans.

For example, meat processing plants in the U.S. underwent shutdowns, and farmers in other countries were forced to dump dairy and fresh produce as demands fell sharply amid lockdowns. The export bans imposed by various countries have also furthered disruptions in the global food supply chain and world trade.

The vast fishery resources surrounding Taiwan has enabled the country to establish highly developed coastal, offshore and ocean fishery industries. The annual output value of Taiwan's fishery industry is about US$1.3 billion. The country’s ocean fishery is ranked among the top three in the world, with tuna longline fishing ranking first in the world.

Taiwan’s fishery industry is supported by the nation’s strong ICT base and features special advantages in aquaculture technology. Taiwan’s complete and innovative aquaculture technology solutions offer the latest in areas including new variety breeding, cultivation, reproduction and production, aquaculture industry management technology, feed production technology, and fishery processing technology. The commercial value development of gene-transfer aquatic products is also offering promising prospects for global partners.

*** TAITRA will hold the 2020 Taiwan International Fisheries and Seafood Show on Sep 3-5 at TaiNEX2, featuring "Fishery Equipment and Technology," "Aquaculture," Seafood & Value-Added Seafood," "Seafood Processing Equipment and Technology," and "Marine Biotechnology." It is one of the best international fishery industry platforms in Asia. See more at: https://www.taiwanfishery.com/en_US/index.html

***FOOD TAIPEI, to be held by TAITRA as well as local food industry associations from Dec 17 to 20 of 2020, is Asia's largest global platform for quality foods procurement.
See more at: https://www.foodtaipei.com.tw/en_US/index.html

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

***As of today, May 11, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 4,138,100 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of 440 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 349 imported cases, 7 deceased cases, 368 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

One of the best ways to kill the coronavirus in public areas, workplace, or at home is to clean and disinfect regularly. It is advised by medical experts to wash the hands thoroughly with soap and water, or use a hand sanitizer. Taiwan, with a complete medical ecosystem of suppliers, is offering top quality sterilizing and anti-bacterial products to the global community.

The coronavirus can exist on a variety of surfaces. An effective way to kill the coronavirus is to disinfect areas where the hands frequently touch. In Taiwan, a variety of sterilizing solutions are being used to disinfect public areas and households. Early on during the outbreak, Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) has extensively educated the public on different methods to kill the coronavirus.

Taiwan so far has been effective in curbing COVID-19 by adopting various strategies. The government assembled national level alliances early on during the outbreak to ensure citizens and medical frontlines can access sufficient anti-epidemic supplies. The national level alliances focused on the production of face masks, protective gears, medical equipment, biomedical R&D, ventilators, and alcohol, which forming a complete anti-epidemic ecosystem.

In addition, the state-owned Taiwan Tabaco and Liquor Corporation and Taiwan Sugar Corporation and various privately owned companies have been applying much of their production capacities to produce 75% alcohol-based anti-epidemic sanitizers. Their current combined monthly output exceeds 4 million bottles. The sanitizers are sold at a fixed and fair retail price, and they are available from more than 21,000 distribution bases at pharmacies, convenience stores, supermarkets and wholesale markets, the highest density in the world.

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

***MEDICAL TAIWAN, scheduled to take place this year in October 15-17 at TaiNEX 2, in Taipei, Taiwan, is a complete International Medical, Health and Care tradeshow to showcase Taiwan's medical innovation and technology, featuring healthcare products, medical devices & equipment, assistive products, and smart medical solutions. See more at: https://www.medicaltaiwan.com.tw/

***As of today, May 8, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 3,875,316 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of 440 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 349 imported cases, 6 deceased cases, 355 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused serious impact in every aspect of daily life for people around the world. All nations are in the fight together. With a long history of being a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan is fully committed to the fight against the disease.

As one of the biomedical leaders in Asia, Taiwan is fully utilizing its biomedical capacity in the quest for the cure for the notorious COVID-19. Apart from the successes in the production of drugs such as Remdisivir and hydroxychloroquine, Taiwan is also one of the spearheads in global vaccine development.

Adimmune (ADIM) Corporation, founded in 1965 and based in central Taiwan, is the only influenza vaccine manufacturer with both EU GMP and US FDA certification in Asia, and also the leading manufacturer of human vaccines in Taiwan. Having worked closely with National Taiwan University (NTU), ADIM announced on May 4 that it has managed to develop a candidate vaccine for the coronavirus.

The candidate vaccine was developed using virus strains acquired from Europe, which are believed to be the most dangerous amongst the ones currently discovered. Mice tests conducted in NTU virology laboratories have shown promising results with the serum antibody in the vaccine not only neutralizing the coronavirus but also further suppressed it.

According to ADIM estimation, the first phase of human clinical trials is likely to begin in the third quarter of 2020 after obtaining approval. The company will collaborate with National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) to ensure the safety of the candidate vaccine. The company is hoping for mass production by the winter of 2021.

Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp (MVC), another prominent Taiwanese vaccine manufacturer based in Taipei, released on May 5 that it has broadened its cooperation with the U.S. National Institute of Health (NIH), and acquired the complete global authorization on the forth coming COVID-19 vaccine, including marketing and production, which is an important breakthrough for MVC’s future operations.

In fact, MVC and NIH already signed an agreement earlier in February, enabling it to become one of the two partners on NHI’s COVID-19 vaccine development project. Sponsored by NHI, mRNA-1273 was the first candidate vaccine developed in the U.S., and currently the fastest paced in the world, with human clinical trials in the U.S. already being conducted in mid-March. Using a fragment of the genetic code from the coronavirus, mRNA-1273 is expected to trigger the same immune response as traditional vaccines and in effect fight off COVID-19.

MVC stated that its COVID-19 candidate vaccine is on track to complete animal clinical trials in the second quarter of 2020, followed by human clinical trials in the second half of 2020 in Taiwan.

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

***MEDICAL TAIWAN, scheduled to take place in October 15-17 in 2020, at TaiNEX 2, Taipei, Taiwan, is a complete International Medical, Health and Care tradeshow to showcase Taiwan's medical innovation and technology, featuring healthcare products, medical devices & equipment, assistive products, and smart medical solutions. See more at: https://www.medicaltaiwan.com.tw/

***As of today, May 7, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 3,777,583 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of 440 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 349 imported cases, 6 deceased cases, 347 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a surge in demand for ultraviolet UVC LED products with sterilization and disinfection functions, which are currently in short supply globally. To meet the demand, leading Taiwanese LED manufacturers such as Lextar, Epistar, Everlight, Lite-On, Epileds, and High Power Lighting have ramped up production of their UVC LED offers and are expecting a growth outlook in the segment.

Ultraviolet rays are categorized by their wavelengths: UVA (320-400nm), UVB (280-320nm) and UVC (100-280nm). UVC ultraviolet light is capable of destroying the DNA and RNA molecular structure in bacteria and viruses, thus achieving the effect of sterilization. The UVC ultraviolet light at a wavelength of about 250-260nm has the strongest sterilization effect.

The light source of UVC LED is small in size and can be used in different applications. Reports estimate that UVC LED will be widely used in commercial air conditioning, surface sterilization and water purification.

There are a number of high-profile Taiwanese LED manufacturers offering UVC LED products in the market. For example, Lextar developed its UVC LED in various packaged products for different disinfection and sterilization applications, including the disinfection of tableware, toothbrush boxes, pacifiers and contact lenses. Lextar’s latest PU35CL1 UVC LED range is ideal for portable sterilization appliances, and the PU35CM1 range can be installed in appliances such as air purifiers and air conditioners for rapid sterilization.

Everlight launched its new UVC LED series of products in Q1 2020. The new series utilizes 280 nm wavelength UVC LED for sterilization and disinfection applications. The company’s monthly production capacity will ramp up to as much as 5 million components with specifications covering 2 mW, 10 mW and 30 mW. One of Everlight’s UVC LED products is a drawer-type sterilization box that can sterilize face masks or tableware in just 15 seconds. The company also offers various portable disinfection products for sterilizing items such as office supplies, pacifiers, maternal and infant products, masks, glasses and gloves.

Lite-On has also been offering UVC LED for many years. Its UVC LED products have a main wavelength of 275 nm. The company’s current product lineup ranges from 3 mW, 10 mW to 80 mW and other specifications. Previously supplying mainly the home appliances markets of Europe, America, Japan, and South Korea, Lite-On is now expecting a global growth in portable sterilization consumer products. The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked a three-fold shipment of portable sterilization products and in-car air purification products.

Epileds and High Power Lighting are also expecting an upward trend in UVC LED shipments. In 2016, the two companies established a joint venture Bioraytron that integrated upstream and downstream LED technology applications. With Bioraytron’s matured LED technology and completed module development, the company is ready for mass production of UVC LED sterilization products.

Manufacturers of UVC LED are expecting double digits in their annual growth for the year. Many have reported production will run at full capacity till August or later.

Market reports indicated that the UVC LED market demand has extended from China to the United States, Europe and Japan, and the market demand has reached an explosive period. It is estimated that the annual compound growth rate (CAGR) of the UVC LED packaging market output value will reach 60% from 2019 to 2024.

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business or collaborating with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

***Photonics Festival in Taiwan, the professional optics and optoelectronics exhibition platform, will be joining this year’s TAITRONICS, AIoT Taiwan, TPCA Show and Laser Taiwan for a mega show to exhibit the complete Taiwan international electronics manufacturing ecosystem at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Hall 1(TaiNEX 1) on October 21-23, 2020.

***MEDICAL TAIWAN, scheduled to take place October 15-17, 2020 at TaiNEX 2, is a complete international medical, health and care tradeshow to showcase Taiwan's medical innovation and technology, featuring healthcare products, medical devices & equipment, assistive products, and smart medical solutions. See more at: https://www.medicaltaiwan.com.tw/

***As of today, May 6, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 3,694,517 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of 439 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, 348 of which are imported cases, 6 deceased cases, 336 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

TAITRA, the largest nonprofit trade promoting organization of Taiwan, is using online technology to connect and empower global communities with a wide array of tools and solutions from Taiwanese innovators for combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

A major highlight of TAITRA’s online efforts is the series of online product launch events the organization has been hosting since 30 March. The first of the online events attracted 90 companies from 15 European countries. Given the success of the online product launches, many events were held subsequently that enabled buyers from around the world to procure everything from stay-at-home solutions and home entertainment equipment to contactless supplies and products.

The April 27 session was the 8th event. It was joined by 7 prominent Taiwanese biotech firms and research institutes who introduced their latest innovations for rapid COVID-19 testing and detection.

Among them was The AEP Alliance, a group of 3 top biotech companies: AnTaimmu BioMed, EirGenix, and Panion& BF Biotech. The group offered an antigen test kit capable of providing results on earlier-infected individuals within 10 minutes by taking nasal mucus samples without using extra equipment. The group received more than 60 inquiries from companies based in countries including France, India, and Canada.

Leadgene Biomedical, a company that developed a 10-15 minute antigen and antibody testing solution without causing cross-reactivity to MERS and general coronaviruses, also received multiple international inquiries.

General Biologicals Corporation introduced its real-time RT-PCR assay and antibody rapid tests. Both featured high level precision and quick response. The RT-PCR test kits were shipped and deployed in France, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.

QuarkBio offered its innovative dqPCR (Digital/Quantitative PCR) analysis system for detecting trace amounts of the coronavirus. According to the company, the system is 10 times more sensitive than conventional PCR tests and that it has been designed to test 6 samples in 90 minutes.

KimForest presented its high sensitivity and specificity PCR-based assay. The assay is capable of providing results within 50 minutes, and it is expected to gain FDA certification in the near future.

The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) demonstrated its Portable Intelligent Rapid Molecular Diagnostic System featuring various advantages including extra-light weight, high sensitivity, high accuracy, and high efficiency.

TCI Gene presented the world’s first fully automated virus scanner. The scanner is operated by robotic arms, and it is designed for 24/7 workloads to test around 900 specimens daily at high accuracy. The company received multiple international inquiries, including those from several U.S.-based industry heavyweights.

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business or collaborating with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

***MEDICAL TAIWAN, scheduled to take place in October 15-17 in 2020, at TaiNEX 2, Taipei, Taiwan, is a complete International Medical, Health and Care tradeshow to showcase Taiwan's medical innovation and technology, featuring healthcare products, medical devices & equipment, assistive products, and smart medical solutions. See more at: https://www.medicaltaiwan.com.tw/

***As of today, May 5, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 3,616,309confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of 438 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, 347of which are imported cases, 6 deceased cases, 334cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

With COVID-19 spreading globally, governments and medical experts from all over the world are gearing up to accelerate research and development to fight the highly infectious disease. Taiwan, with advanced biotechnology and precision machinery capabilities, has assembled a testing system alliance to produce all-in-one epidemic testing machines.

Screening out infected patients as early as possible is an important step in preventing the spread of COVID-19. The highest amount of virus in a patient is generally found in the first five to seven days of infection. Some may show clear symptoms while some many only display mild flu-like symptoms or no symptoms at all.

Currently there are two kinds of tests available for COVID-19: one is a viral test and the other is an anti-body test. A viral test tells if a patient is currently infected, which checks samples from individual’s respiratory system. Fast screening tests can yield results in less than an hour, but has less accuracy. Other tests like RT-PCR, must be sent to a laboratory for further analysis, and the testing process is more complicated, and usually takes more hours, but has the highest accuracy rate.

While the world relies heavily on the RT-PCR test mechanism, the biggest challenge for such approach is that most nations do the test manually in a lab, which is labor intensive and time consuming. Some countries might not have enough testing systems for fast and accurate results. In fact, most testing systems available are usually very large in size and costly to acquire.

To overcome these challenges, the Industrial Technology Research Institute has teamed up with companies from various fields including biomedical R&D, PCB assembly, wire rods & cables, precision machinery, as well as intelligent manufacturing systems, to design and produce an all-in-one automated RT-PCR COVID-19 testing system.

This alliance for the COVID-19 automated testing system represents an anti-pandemic supply chain with companies known for their innovation, design, and manufacturing capabilities.

The automated testing system developed by the alliance is not only compact in size, more affordable and efficient, but also less labor intensive and produces fewer errors. The alliance aims to mass produce the testing system by the end of May 2020.

According to market reports, the global market for medical machinery will reach US$4,475 billion in 2020, with In-Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) market accounting for 13%.

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business or collaborating with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

***MEDICAL TAIWAN, scheduled to take place in October 15-17 in 2020, at TaiNEX 2, Taipei, Taiwan, is a complete International Medical, Health and Care tradeshow to showcase Taiwan's medical innovation and technology, featuring healthcare products, medical devices & equipment, assistive products, and smart medical solutions. See more at: https://www.medicaltaiwan.com.tw/

***As of today, May 4, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 3,542,687 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of 437 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, 347 of which are imported cases, 6 deceased cases, 334 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

Taking place in March to April 2020, the #BuildforCOVID19 Global Online Hackathon received more than 1560 entries submitted by 18,000 innovators from 175 countries.

The hackathon was organized and sponsored by WHO, Facebook, Microsoft and other heavyweight tech corporates to encourage contestants to create software solutions for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

MedCheX, created by a team from National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), was one of the 89 highlight projects recognized by the panel of judges.

According to the NCKU team, MedCheX is an e-Alert system to automatically detecting pneumonia caused by COVID-19 from chest x-rays. The system is designed to identify high-risk pneumonia patients using their x-ray images.

If the system determines patients as COVID-19 positive, doctors will then receive e-Alerts through computers or mobile phones that contain the original scans and detection results, allowing them to make better diagnosis and appropriate treatments.

Based on some 1400 x-ray images the system managed to scan so far, MedCheX has already been tested and achieved 92% accuracy in detecting COVID-19 positive pneumonia symptoms.

The NCKU Hospital has deployed the system for 3 months already, and since it only takes 1 second to determine if a patient needs further screening for COVID-19, the efficiency in diagnosis has been tremendously enhanced.

The NCKU team created a machine learning model that automatically detects the presence of pneumonia using patients’ x-ray images.

In the future, other types of medical screenings, such as CT scans or MRIs, may also be integrated into MedCheX, to provide doctors with even more accurate information when diagnosing.

The case of MedCheX is an example of Taiwan being one of the world’s ICT and AI powers and that the country is actively sharing its resources and experience with the international community.

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business or collaborating with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

***InnoVEX, a major exhibit of COMPUTEX, is one of the most important international startup events in Taiwan and Asia, featuring high tech forums, pitch contest, demos, matchmaking, networking and startup tour. In 2019, InnoVEX attracted 467 startups from 25 countries to display top innovations.

***MEDICAL TAIWAN, scheduled to take place in October 15-17m 2020, at TaiNEX 2, Taipei, Taiwan. It is an annual event held by TAITRA, and is a complete International Medical, Health and Care tradeshow to showcase Taiwan's medical innovation and technology, featuring healthcare products, medical devices & equipment, assistive products, and smart medical solutions. See more at: https://www.medicaltaiwan.com.tw/

***As of today, April 30, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 3,204,232 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, with 5 consecutive days of ZERO addition, a total of 429 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, 343 of which are imported cases, 6 deceased cases, 322 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

With the highly infectious COVID-19 continuing to threaten global health and economies, every country is now fighting a battle and looking for ways to prevent further spread. At this time of crisis, Taiwan is committed to help international efforts to overcome challenges, and TAITRA is facilitating the exchange and collaboration between Taiwan’s medical sector and the global community.

TAITRA has been facilitating global companies and organizations to connect with Taiwan’s medical supplies ecosystem, including manufacturers of face masks, medical garment, thermometers and sanitizers. Face masks are amongst the most effective and least costly ways to combat the COVID-19 outbreak. The following are three of the Taiwan Excellence Award winning companies that manufacture face masks or face mask related machineries:

CSD, established in 1947, is one of the leading health protective supplies brands in Taiwan. CSD has supplied reliable and quality medical supplies to healthcare experts and facilities over the world for more than 7 decades. CSD takes its expertise and applying it to the consumer homecare market with the vision of “Health in Style”- designed to not only deliver high levels of safety and performance, but to also bring style and character, such as denim, camouflage pattern, and Dutch orange which amazed the Dutch representative to Taiwan when receiving the mask donation from Taiwan.

Feature: CSD alcohol wipes account for 70% of the total market share in Taiwan, and is among the few foreign suppliers certified by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. CSD is also a contractor of the United States Army.

LAITEST is a Taiwan Excellence award winner face mask producer and a brand of the Taiwan Stanch group. The company produces high standard and quality medical face masks. It now has a sales network spanning over 120 countries including those in the USA, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. LAITEST also provides consumer medical products.

King Ultrasonic, a Taiwan Excellence award winner founded in 1979, manufactures various ultrasonic equipment for worldwide customers. The company’s new generation ultrasonic systems are synchronized with European and American technology. With strong research and innovation capabilities, King Ultrasonic offers medical and aesthetic products including ultrasonic welders and flat mask machines.

Feature: The largest professional ultrasonic equipment manufacturer in Asia. Its pivotal ultrasonic welding technique allows the face masks to become impenetrable by viruses.

Products: Plastic welding, metal welding, synthetic fabric sewing and sealing, as well as all the way up to fully automatic manufacturing machines

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business or collaborating with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

***MEDICAL TAIWAN, scheduled to take place in October 15-17m 2020, at TaiNEX 2, Taipei, Taiwan. It is an annual event held by TAITRA, and is a complete International Medical, Health and Care tradeshow to showcase Taiwan's medical innovation and technology, featuring healthcare products, medical devices & equipment, assistive products, and smart medical solutions. See more at: https://www.medicaltaiwan.com.tw/

***As of today, April 29, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 3,127,046 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, with 0 addition, a total of 429 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 343 imported cases, 6 deceased cases, 311 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update:https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

Taiwan ICT Industry in the post-COVID-19 Pandemic World
Publish Date：2020-04-28

Taiwan ICT companies play essential roles in the global manufacturing and innovation ecosystem. Their capabilities are marked by strong software innovation and hardware productivity, as well as the solutions they provide through the integration of both.

As a leading ICT supplier, the innovative and production capabilities of Taiwan are relied upon by businesses around the world. According to Institute for Information Industry (III) research, in order for Taiwan’s ICT companies to serve the world’s needs post COVID-19, there are several changes they can implement, including:
1. Developing a regional production and supply chain. By doing so, manufacturers can get closer to customers while reducing the chances of supply chain disruptions due to overly relying on overseas supplies.
2. Introducing smart production. This is a critical step to take to reduce labor cost and to revitalize local production. Smart production enables manufacturers to make personalized products and become even more market-oriented.
3. Adopt AI and IoT for manufacturing to react faster to shifts in consumer behaviors.

The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has also suggested for Taiwan ICT companies to relocate and diversify production in different parts of the world, as well as directing new innovations to meet the needs generated by the “from home” trend. The institute pointed out that the changes in the collective behaviors and habits of people working and studying from home will drive the next generation of ICT applications.

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business or collaborating with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

***As of today, April 28, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 3,072,806 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, with 0 addition, a total of 429 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 343 imported cases, 6 deceased cases, 307 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

Taiwan’s extensive deployment of digital governance in areas including immigration, customs and national health insurance became the critical tools for the nation’s efforts to fend of the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Drawing on the SARS experience, Taiwan responded swiftly to ration the nation’s limited supply of face masks. Upon first learning about the foreign coronavirus outbreak, the government took actions to control national inventories and production, as well as developing an app named “Face Mask Map” with real-time information on mask store locations and availability. The app not only served to distribute existing stocks of masks, it also became a confidence boost that calmed the public. Face Mask Map had since undergone several iterations and updates. As a vital digital tool, the app helped prevent panic buying while the government continued to ramp up national production capabilities. Taiwan is now the world’s second largest face mask maker and has been donating masks and other vital medical supplies to countries around the world.

Digital governance was also instrumental in Taiwan’s efforts to strengthen border control, which began on December 31, 2019, to screen inbound travelers from high risk areas. Taiwan officials integrated the national health insurance (NHI) database with its immigration and customs database early on, which enabled the government to track travel histories and symptoms. Moreover, medical facilities including hospitals and pharmacies had access to the information for their patients and customers and had the power to respond accordingly to help prevent transmissions and institutional infections.

Furthermore, the government initiated the “Digital Fence” system for locating and monitoring individuals under the 14-day compulsory quarantine. With minimal privacy intrusion, the technology tracks the smartphone locations of those under quarantine. If the phones are detected too far away from the quarantine area, an alarms would be triggered with calls and messages made to re-confirm the individual’s whereabouts.

Digital governance played a significant role in Taiwan’s efforts to curb COVID-19. In addition to NHI and border control, the country’s e-government also covers other areas including household registration, civil services, revenue services and education. As an ICT leader at this time of crisis, Taiwan welcomes opportunities to share and exchange and its digital governance best practices with the global community.

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business or collaborating with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

***As of today, April 27, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 3,004,956 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, with 0 addition, a total of 429 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 343 imported cases, 6 deceased cases, 290 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

With a great majority of the world population currently staying at home or in quarantine, one of the fast-emerging ways for people to receive medical assistance or treatment is through telehealth. Taiwan Excellence, featuring award winning products and services from Taiwanese medical solution providers, is offering some of the most innovative telehealth solutions in the industry.

The severity of COVID-19 has forced governments around the world to take drastic lockdown measures. Governments are also calling for their citizens to only visit hospitals or clinics unless necessary in order to avoid the risk of crowding which may lead to further spread of infections. Consequently, telemedicine has become a preferred option for patients with chronic diseases requiring regular medical attention, and telehealth applications have seen a surge in popularity.

One key benefit of telemedicine is that it helps reduce the risk of infection to patients and medical staff. It also reduces the time and cost of travelling back and forth to hospitals or clinics. According to the latest reports, the global market value of telemedicine will grow from US$38.3 billion in 2019 to US$130.5 billion in 2025.

***AGExpo, making its debut in Malaysia on Aug. 20-23, showcases smart medical devices, rehabilitation equipment, health food and supplement, and long-term care services to enhance the care and well-being of the ASEAN senior populations.
See more at: https://agexpo.com.my/

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business or collaborating with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

***As of today, April 23, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 2,732,708 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of 428 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 343 imported cases, 6 deceased cases, 264 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

Due to the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic, TAITRA has postponed or cancelled its international tradeshows in the first half of 2020, to abide by the government regulation and to care for all participants’ well-being. Meanwhile, to minimize the impact on the change of schedules, TAITRA is to launch a series of Online Exhibition Services (OES) that generate new business opportunities for international and Taiwanese businesses. Focusing on 17 Taiwan International tradeshows, the services launched by TAITRA include:

1. Online Exhibitions
TAITRA is launching Online Exhibitions for the tradeshows affected by the pandemic. They are scheduled to be launched on the original opening days of the tradeshows, enabling exhibitors to setup online stores and digital catalogues, and buyers may place orders through Taiwantrade.com or the Taiwan International Tradeshows website. VR showrooms will also be launched for the 2020 Taipei Cycle design & innovation awards, as well as the TaiSPO All Star awards on May 15, where buyers will be able to take detailed looks at product exhibits in a 360 degree virtual environment.

2. Match-Making Services
International buyers are invited by TAITRA’s 63 overseas branch offices to participate in Online Match-Making meetings. This branch of the OES provides precise match making services to international buyers. The service began with Taipei AMPA on April 16, and 5 additional sessions are already planned for May and June.

3. International Webinars
TAITRA will be holding webinars that focus on the 4 major export industries of Taiwan: auto parts, food products, bicycles, and ICT. Industry experts from Europe, America and Southeast Asia are invited to give in-depth talks analyzing the opportunities and challenges arising from the pandemic. The webinars are schedule to air on the Taiwan International Tradeshows YouTube channel and the official websites of the tradeshows, as well as social media in May and June.

4. New Product Launch Events
International buyers are invited to follow the online product launch events featuring the latest products from Taiwan companies participating in Taipei Cycle, TaiSPO, Taipei AMPA, COMPUTEX Taipei, Taiwan International Beauty Show, and MEDICAL Taiwan. Video clips promoting the new products will be uploaded to the Taiwan International Tradeshows YouTube channel and the official websites of the tradeshows, as well as social media.

5. Taiwan International Tradeshow Reports
In-depth analysis and reports will be made available online featuring Taiwan’s bicycle, auto parts, machinery, medical, and ICT industries. The reports will be covered by industry experts and focus on analyzing the opportunities and challenges arising from the pandemic, as well as insights into the latest trends at each of the 5 major corresponding Taiwan International Tradeshows.

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business or collaborating with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

***As of today, April 23, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 2,649,697 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of 427confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 343 imported cases, 6 deceased cases, 253 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

With the highly infectious COVID-19 continuing to threaten global health and economies, every country is now fighting an battle and looking for ways to prevent further spread. At this time of crisis, Taiwan is committed to help international efforts to overcome challenges, and TAITRA is facilitating the close exchange and collaboration between Taiwan’s medical sector and the global medical community.

Taiwan, with one the top healthcare systems in the world and comprehensive experience in fighting the SARS epidemic, has prepared in advance and implemented effective measures in the fight against COVID-19. Taiwan is also actively contributing to the international medical community by helping to improve prevention measures that reduce local infections.

Upon learning about the initial outbreak that began overseas, Taiwan acted swiftly to establish a central command center to allocate resources and manage the emergency. Stringent air and sea border control was also implemented immediately. The government then adopted various technologies to facilitate diagnoses and created an online mask-rationing system, while also combating misinformation and educating the public on epidemic prevention.

At the same time, when TAITRA received inquiries from India’s medical community to learn about the experiences of Taiwan’s medical institutions in epidemic prevention, TAITRA swiftly arranged online seminars for the doctors of National Cheng Kung University Hospital to share their knowledge and expertise.

On April 2nd, TAITRA facilitated the online epidemic prevention seminar delivered by National Cheng Kung University Hospital to ALKEM Laboratories India. The discussion included COVID-19 testing methods, drug treatment programs, methods of managing cases, and mask management. The online seminar was attended by 8,962 medical professionals from India.

On April 14th, TAITRA helped arrange another epidemic prevention webinar delivered by Taiwan’s National Cheng Kung University Hospital to Indian Veritaz Healthcare Limited which was joined by over 2,100 Indian medical professionals.

In addition to India, medical institutions from the US, Myanmar and other countries are also inquiring about Taiwan's epidemic prevention experience and seeking opportunities for sharing and exchange. TAITRA is standing ready to facilitate more services to connect Taiwan’s medical professionals and the global medical community in the fight against the pandemic.

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business or collaborating with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

***As of today, April 22, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 2,570,230 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of 426 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 343 imported cases, 6 deceased cases, 236 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

While COVID-19 has dramatically changed the course of the world, Taiwan is committed to helping communities everywhere in all aspects of daily life at a time of crisis. Echoing the message: Taiwan can help and Taiwan is helping, **Taiwan Excellence** is devoted to providing the global community with the best solutions from Taiwan and contribute to the fight against the pandemic.

As key suppliers in the global supply chain and as leaders in the global ICT industry, Taiwanese manufacturers and innovators are continuing to produce high quality goods and introducing new products, services and innovative solutions for overcoming current and future challenges. While the global supply chain has been disrupted by COVID-19, Taiwan has remained as reliable and trusted as ever for partners around the world. According to the latest data, exports by Taiwan-based companies in March continued a growing trend from the previous month.

The Taiwan government established the Taiwan Excellence Awards in 1993. Every year TAITRA, the organizer, invites innovative businesses form a wide variety of industry sectors to compete with their latest offers that demonstrate four areas of excellence: R&D, design, quality, and marketing. Ranked by an international panel of judges, the most innovative entries are awarded the mark of Taiwan Excellence, and only a very select number of top entries are chosen to compete for the Taiwan Excellence *Silver Award*, and the top honor, the Taiwan Excellence *Gold Award*.

Products or services that are recognized by Taiwan Excellence Awards represent the best of Taiwan’s industrial excellence, which include electronics and communication, PC and software, recreation and sports, transportation, fashion, home & construction materials & hardware, productivity and energy, health and precision instrument.

Each year, Taiwan Excellence brings together a selective group of award winners to attend a variety of international tradeshows at the *Taiwan Excellence Pavilions*, and attend global events such as Velothon Berlin.

*****TAITRA**, your reliable partner for doing business or collaborating with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

***As of today, April 21, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 2,483,795 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of **425**confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 343 imported cases, 6 deceased cases, 217 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

As more countries are seeing a slowdown in the spread of COVID-19, it has become a major task for governments and private sectors to get businesses back to normal. Taiwan, as a major supplier and business partner in the 5G and AIoT related global supply chain and innovation ecosystem, stands ready to contribute to a global economic recovery.

The global consumer market is anticipating major growth from the upcoming 5G revolution, which will present robust opportunities for all sectors. The key advantages of 5G are faster transmission and lower latency which will bring huge benefits to AIoT applications, cloud platforms and edge computing.

With the increase of 5G coverage, the related applications will become even more prevalent in sectors including manufacturing, medical care, logistics, mobile and computer communications, smart city, and customized solutions.

Renowned for their expertise, experience, flexible manufacturing capability and innovation, Taiwan's ICT and semiconductor industries can help companies seize new opportunities with essential 5G solutions including various key components, products and services.

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business or collaborating with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services.
Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

***As of today, April 20, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 2,409,052 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of 422 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 343 imported cases, 6 deceased cases, 203 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

The ICT industry of Taiwan is an essential part of the global manufacturing and innovation ecosystem. The capability of Taiwan ICT companies is marked by their software innovative power and hardware productivity, as well as the solutions they provide through the integration of both.

As one of the world’s ICT leaders, Taiwan is ready to facilitate the recovery of the global economy in the post pandemic world. According to SEMI research, Taiwan is the 2019 global semiconductor equipment leader, account for 29% of the total market share, and the country has some of the world’s most comprehensive ICT industry clusters and supply chains.

TAITRA will be holding the 2020 COMPUTEX on September 28-30 featuring a complete industry ecosystem and the InnoVEX (Startup Innovation) exhibit. COMPUTEX is one the world’s top high-tech tradeshows featuring 5G, ICT, Smart Solutions, Gaming, Innovative Applications and Startups. The show will be held at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Hall 2 (TaiNEX2).

TAITRA will also be holding the COMTECH shows in Myanmar and India, a brand-new series of trade shows focusing on ICT and related technologies. Taking place in Yangon from Sept.11 to 12 and Mumbai form Sept. 29 to Oct. 1, the shows will highlight network connectivity, IoT, gaming products, e-government and smart city solutions, as well as contactless services tailored to the Myanmar and India markets that are currently going through a major digital transformation.

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business or collaborating with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services.
Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

***As of today, April 17, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 2,156,756 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of 395 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 2 consecutive days of ZERO additional case, 340 imported cases, 6 deceased cases, 166 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

While COVID-19 continues to affect the world economy and global supply chains, new data are suggesting that through efforts such as community isolation, some countries are starting to flatten the curve. Taiwan, as one of the world’s major fastener manufacturers, is ready to facilitate an eventual global economic recovery.

The pandemic has significantly disrupted the global supply chain and forced many manufacturers to halt operations. However, the global effort to overcome COVID-19 has shown encouraging results, and some countries are gradually resuming production. As more countries begin to go back to work, the world economy can and will eventually recover.

Facing challenges created by COVID-19, the Taiwan fastener industry is even more committed to providing high quality goods and services that the world needs to return to a new normal. Taiwan is the third largest screw nut exporter in the world, and the country has some of the world’s most comprehensive industry clusters and supply chains. With strong R&D and manufacturing capabilities, the industry is expecting a steady growth trajectory into the post-pandemic world market.

The 2020 Taiwan International Fastener Show will be held by TAITRA at the Kaohsiung Exhibition Hall on October 14-16. The event is the third largest fastener trade show in the world and the second largest in Asia, and it is one of the best international B2B sourcing and networking platforms in the industry. The show features a complete industry ecosystem with a broad spectrum of nuts, bolts and screws for various industry including ICT, automobile, aerospace, medical equipment, construction, transportation, general machinery and precision instrument. An online version of the exhibition will also be held at the same time.

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business or collaborating with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

***As of today, April 16, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 2,059,000 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of 395 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 338 imported cases, 6 deceased cases, 137 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Taiwan government has announced that it will invest 5.46 billion NT dollars (US $181.7 million) for the research and development of biomedical epidemic prevention technologies, hoping to contribute more to the testing, prevention and treatment of the COVID-19.

Taiwan has accumulated significant know-how in epidemic prevention from past experiences, and has been among the most effective countries in curbing domestic spread so far. Taiwan has also continued to integrate domestic production, government and academic resources to form a national level alliance for vaccines, drugs and testing tools.

The government has announced a special budget of 2.16 billion dollars (US $71.8 million) for the Relief and Emergency funds, and 3.3 billion dollars (US $109 million) for the annual budget on Biomedical and Epidemic Prevention Technology Projects. A 4 billion dollar (US $133 million) 2022-2027 budget has also been approved for the Epidemic Prevention Center Construction project.

Currently, a total of 2.16 billion dollars (US $71.8 million) have been invested to improve Taiwan’s testing and treatment of COVID-19, and collaborations with European countries and the US have already taken place. Meanwhile, Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has developed a rapid diagnostic test capable of getting results in an hour with a 90-percent accuracy rate. The test is scheduled for production in July.

So far, the drugs on the market that are said to show promise for treating COVID-19 include Remdesivir, favipiravir (Avigan), and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). Taiwan has successfully synthesized Remdesivir and favipiravir, and domestic manufacturers are capable to produce the drugs. Hydroxychloroquine can be mass-produced in Taiwan, and more than 20 countries have placed orders for the drug. Taiwan will also begin clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines in May, and discussions of international collaborations are already underway with many countries.

Going forward, Taiwan’s Ministry of Science and Technology is planning to set up 3 to 5 epidemic prevention scientific research centers for biomedicine focusing on cloud computing, telemedicine, and artificial intelligence. The national-level AI cloud supercomputer has also begun to receive proposals from private sectors to develop anti-epidemic big data computing services.

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business or collaborating with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

***As of today, April 14, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 1,866,000 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of 393 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 338 imported cases, 6 deceased cases, 124 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

Taiwan Building Up Biomed Capacity to Help Fight COVID-19 Pandemic

Publish Date：2020-04-13

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused serious impact in people’s daily lives around the world, mankind and all nations are in the fight together. As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan is not only helping but also committed to the fight and seeing it through. All of Taiwan’s biomedical research outcome will be deployed to help end the pandemic.

Taiwanese businesses are contributing to the fight against COVID-19 in a variety of areas. For example, ICT industry giants such as Quanta and Foxconn are remodeling their productions lines to make virus detection kits and ventilators; Formosa Plastic Corporation is engaged in the production of PP and Spandex, the raw materials of isolation gowns and medical masks; companies such as TCI are focusing on producing virus scanners that could test 96 patients at a time. Also, Taiwan-based Sci Pharmtech, the world’s second largest quinine manufacturer, has announced it will synthesize 15 million tablets of quinine within the next 3 months.

Operating one of the world’s best medical care and public health systems as well as one of the most complete epidemic prevention ecosystems, the Taiwan government is fully committed to work with the global biomedical community. Taiwan’s National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) has made significant progress on synthesizing Remdesivir, a possible post-infection treatment for COVID-19 illness, and several countries have approached the institute for collaboration.

According to Chiung-Tong Chen, the Director of the Institute of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Research (IBPR) at NHRI, the R&D of anti COVID-19 coronavirus medication would include using existing drugs such as quinine, research findings from the SARS outbreak, big data and AI to discover possible compounds or substances.

Moreover, Taiwan’s national academy, Academia Sinica, has made a breakthrough on the production of a 15-minute rapid screening kit. The academy’s researchers have also identified potential COVID-19 protease inhibitors, which may interrupt the infectious cycle of the coronavirus and block its replication.

Furthermore, though still under clinical trial, Taiwan’s Ministry of Science and Technology recently revealed a 12-minute COVID-19 test kit. The kit is a joint effort of Taiwan and Denmark that aims to obtain EU certification in May and launch in Taiwan in June.

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb
***TAITRA holds world renowned exhibitions such as Medical TAIWAN, COMPUTEX, Taipei Cycle, AMPA, and Food Taipei.
For Taiwan International Tradeshows, see: https://www.taiwantradeshows.com.tw/en_US/index.html
***As of today, April 13, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 1,797,000 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of 393confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 338 imported cases, 6 deceased cases, 114 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

TAITRA Fully Utilizing Digital Technologies Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Publish Date：2020-04-10

TAITRA, Taiwan’s most important trade show organizer and trade promoting organization, hosts more than 30 international exhibitions and over 200 business match-making events every year. Facing the pandemic, TAITRA responded quickly and immediately to launch online exhibitions and procurement meetings to serve the global business community which is currently on lockdown.

TAITRA also immediately drew up plans to help more than 40 Taiwanese trade mission groups to set up online or virtual 3D exhibitions. For example, the newly launched hosiery and optical exhibitions (https://hosiery.taiwantrade.com/; https://optical.taiwantrade.com/) enable visitors to see the products and shop directly online. More online virtual pavilions are on the way, featuring IoT and smart medical, industrial solutions, and e-commerce with more than 600 products or services.

*CyberLink has launched U Communication Suite, designed for business communication with fully integrated service for online meetings, presentations and business chat, and was selected as the "Best Video Conference Software for 2020" by MSN.com. https://www.taiwanexcellence.org/en/award/product/109200

The COVID-19 Pandemic has forced many countries to go on lockdown and close their borders, which caused drastic suspension of international travel and made direct impact on the global MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) sector. Most of the upcoming events and activities around the world have either been cancelled or postponed. To cope with this challenge, the MICE industry is swiftly embracing digital transformation.

The MICE industry is a dynamic industry related to managing conferences, seminars, events, and exhibitions, with stakeholders such as participants, sponsors, planners, tourism agents, venues, accommodations, and organizers highly involved. The industry contributes greatly to the world businesses and economy, and indeed has experienced high growth in the past due to rapid globalization and expansion of the service industries with growing market demand.

Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic, UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, estimated that that the global exhibition and events industry has lost a total of US$16.5 billion (14.4 billion euros) due to the pandemic, with Asia Pacific region being the hardest hit. At this critical time, all the stakeholders of the industry are actively seeking alternative solutions to accelerate the pace of digital transformation.

To cope with events being disrupted drastically, the organizers of international conventions and exhibitions have also swiftly introduced digital technologies to successfully host online exhibitions or meetings. The latest trends in the MICE industry include social media marketing and customer-focused, interactive experiences. Demands for novel spaces for events have created a shift toward augmented reality and virtual venues.

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

***As of today, April 10, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 1,548,000 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of 382 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 328 imported cases, 5 deceased cases, 91 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En

To effectively prevent the spread of COVID-19 and enforce quarantine measures for inbound travelers from high risk regions, the Taiwan government has been using an Intelligent Electronic Fences System that enables digital monitoring and tracking of quarantined individuals.

COVID-19 is highly contagious through person to person contact, so one of the most effective ways to stop spread is through quarantine and isolation. However, when individuals who have been asked to engage in self-isolation break their quarantine and go out into the public, they may unknowingly cause further spread and thus pose serious dangers to public health.

How does the Taiwan government utilize technology to manage such risks?

Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) in late January collaborated with Chunghwa Telecom, HTC, and LINE (the most popular social app in Taiwan) to develop the Intelligent Electronic Fences System. The system is linked up with Customs and Immigration data and Taiwan’s major telecom networks, which enables location monitoring and tracking of individuals asked to quarantine themselves.

An Immigration and Quarantine System was also built first to improve the efficiency of the immigration clearance process. Before entering Taiwan, individuals are requested to scan a QR Code that links to a platform to fill out their health declaration and travel history online. Their information is stored into the 14 day Intelligent Electronic Fences System. Quarantined individuals will have tracking alarms activated in their mobile phones. The CECC can then monitor and track their locations on city heat maps in real-time.

The system will also send reminders about staying inside the quarantine area, and provide access to medical authorities for treatment if symptoms such as coughing or fever occur. In the case of chronic or non COVID-19 medical conditions, medical consultations are provided via videoconferencing.

If quarantined individuals leave their quarantine areas, the system will alert the authorities to take the necessary actions. Fines ranging from US$3,300 (NT$100,000) to US$ 33,300 (NT$1,000,000) may be imposed for leaving quarantine areas without permission or acting in violation of other related quarantine rules.

In the event that quarantined individuals are later found to be COVID-19 positive, the system can retrieve a record of their location and movement data to help identify those they may have been in contact with to screen for infections.

More recently, a bot function was added to the LINE social app to enable quarantined individuals to report their status to the authorities on a daily basis, which further enhances the effectiveness of frontline civil staff carrying out their daily duties. Entertainment features such as LINE Music, LINE TV and other free services are soon to be implemented to help provide additional relief and relaxation during the 14-day quarantine period.

*** The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced starting March 19, travelers coming or returning to Taiwan need to observe a 14-day home quarantine.

***TAITRA, your reliable partner for doing business with Taiwan, has a global network of 63 branch offices dedicated to helping you connect with quality Taiwan partners, suppliers, products, and services. Contact an office near you: https://lnkd.in/eRfrjzb

***As of today, April 9, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than 1,457,000 confirmed cases worldwide. As of writing, a total of 380 confirmed cases were reported in Taiwan, with 326 imported cases, 5 deceased cases, 80 cases released from isolation, and the remainder hospitalized in stable condition. See the latest update: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/E